KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Marc Ignacio, like many professional musicians, was hit hard by the pandemic. Gigs like parties and weddings evaporated as people retreated into the safety of home offices and living rooms. Looking at the situation from the outside, it seems hopeless; one would have to get another job. Ignacio, owner of Island Style Mobile Entertainment sees that the glass is half full. He’ll simply meet people where they’re at with the power of livestreaming.
“And if you look for my name, I have a schedule. I usually stream two times a day. I do one time in the morning, start my morning. If it’s nice. I’ll show them a little bit of Alaska. And people are loving these Alaska views, man. They tune in for this,” Ignacio said.
“And then at night, I turn off the lights and turn on the fog machine and turn on the disco lights. And I open up this place called “the lounge” where I’ve put a name out there. It’s called “the lounge,” and people are just coming in there and they can request songs, you dance, if somebody wants to call in and sing a song, they can come in and sing. Yeah, it’s a pretty cool app.”
Ignacio streams on the LIVIT app, and has found a fair degree of success as a live entertainer. He hosts music shows for a few hours a day, and is making money the whole while. Somedays it’s the lounge, and other days its gospel music, Mondays at 9am, which also includes prayer. He’s also doing work as a talent scout for LIVIT, one of two in Alaska. He didn’t start on LIVIT, but found his way there after starting on Facebook live.
“When my business shut down, I turned to Facebook. I just want to keep the vibe going, you know, sharpen my sword, as you say, with my music and just keeping the vibe just in case there will be a turnaround. Doing that, I turned to Facebook and I started live streaming on Facebook. Asking for Venmo love, you know, little tips here and there or PayPal to try to make a little bit of money, to try to make up for what I’ve been losing,” Ignacio said.
“And it just so happened there was a friend of mine that was on there. And he told me about this app. And he gave me a shot at it. I found a sponsor. He got me a talent manager. I tried it. And it’s been a blessing ever since man. The community in there is awesome.”
Ignacio says it’s no replacement for the in-person gigs, but it helps.
“So like I said, it’s not gonna pay all the bills but it will pay a bill or two, right?,” Ignacio said.
Ignacio encourages people to reach out to him if they want to learn more, or try it out for themselves, at 539-1542, or to find him on Facebook at Island Style 907 or Marc Ignacio.
